


Hero

by dreamcp



Series: KlanceWeek2k16 [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Galra Keith (Voltron), Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-08
Updated: 2016-08-08
Packaged: 2018-08-07 13:49:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7717261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dreamcp/pseuds/dreamcp
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith seems to be hiding something from the group. Lance is shocked by what he discovers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Almost done with KlanceWeek, wow. Day 6: prompt was Hero/Villain. This got reeeeally long somehow, haha.

Lance sighs with relief as he lands the blue lion in the castle’s hangar room. The battle had been very tense, and they were all a little worse for wear. He's looking forward to a big dinner and a long nap.

He pulls off his helmet as he climbs out of his lion. Most of the group is gathered in the center of the room, looking each other over for injuries and sharing congratulations. Keith seems to be missing, but his lion is among the rest of them, so Lance isn't worried.

“And that's another point for us,” Lance says loudly, cutting into the group conversation. “Voltron- 36, Zarkon- 0.” 

“Don't get cocky yet, Lance,” Shiro says, though he's grinning. Lance gives him a mock salute. Hunk throws an arm around Lance’s shoulders.

“You did pretty good out there, Hunk!” Lance says to his friend. “I mean it, you took out enough of those ships to start your own fleet!”

This goes on for a few minutes. All the while, Keith is nowhere to be seen. Lance keeps sending looks towards the red lion, hoping to see Keith emerge; no such luck. A little bud of concern starts to grow inside of him.

Keith and Pidge had been sent to infiltrate the ship they were up against, looking for prisoners and any useful information. Lance doesn't know the whole story, but he does know that they got cornered by Galra forces and were separated while fighting back. He wonders if something happened to Keith that they didn't hear about; still, he apparently made it to his lion and got back to the castle.

He asks Shiro about it as they all start to trickle into the main part of the castle: “Shiro, have you seen Keith anywhere?”

Shiro’s face becomes thoughtful. Then he frowns. “No, I haven't, actually. Keith was the first one to arrive back at the castle, he must have run out before the rest of us got here.”

Lance thanks him. He tries to believe it, he really does. But Keith is his friend, despite their constant bickering, and Lance can't help but feel concerned.

In any case, there's not much he can do right now. Even if he really, really wants to make sure Keith is fine for himself. Damn crushes.

Lance has known he's in too deep for weeks. It wasn't “love at first sight” or anything clichéd like that. It also wasn't love at second sight, or third, or fifth or twentieth. It was rivalry, and then it was tentative friendship, then close trust. Though it wasn't until after the Balmera had been saved that Lance had considered any of this; and it wasn't until after the group had reunited after being separated in the wormhole that Lance finally recognized his symptoms.

Lance has noticed a shift in their friendship since being reunited. They still fight, but it's more out of habit. Keith actually seeks him out to train or to just talk, and Lance does the same. Keith is much more comfortable with him than he was when they first interacted, even after Lance starts lowkey flirting with him. It's enough to get Lance’s hopes up, but he's still hesitant to take the next step.

Lance’s thoughts stay with Keith all the way to his room. He slides out of his armor and dresses casually, then wanders down to the dining room. Coran has prepared a colorful goop dinner for them, and everyone sits down and begins to dig in.

Except Keith. 

“Seriously, where is that guy?” Lance asks through a mouthful of goo. 

“I went to go grab him, but he wasn't in his room,” Hunk shrugs. 

Lance furrows his eyebrows. If Keith isn't in his room, then where is he? The training room is always a good bet, but even Keith knows not to overwork himself and usually shows up to eat. Scarfing down the rest of his food, Lance wipes his mouth.

“I'll go look for him,” he says, standing, ignoring the questioning looks from the rest of the room. 

“I'm sure Keith is just fine, Lance,” Allura says, but Lance is already on his way out. Pidge mumbles something under their breath, and Hunk snorts. Lance can't quite make it out, but he thinks he knows what it was anyway. Face flushing, he speeds out of the dining room.

Keith isn't in the training room. Or the lounge, or the command room or anywhere else Lance checks. He even visits Keith's room to be sure and nope, he isn't there. Lance is frustrated at this point. The guy has to be _somewhere_.

On a whim, Lance decides to check the hangar. The sound of his steps echoes through the large room. It's the only sound he hears. 

He walks slowly past each of the crouching lions. They all remain motionless and silent, showing no signs of life.

That is, until he passes the red lion. A small sound reaches his ears and he pauses. Seconds later, he hears it again. Lance looks up at the lion; it's coming from inside.

“Hello? Anyone in there?” Asks Lance as he raps his knuckles against the lion’s hull. “... Keith?”

There's no reply. Lance runs his hand along the lion’s snout, feeling the cool metal under his fingers. There's not a whole lot he can do stuck out here. He taps against the metal again. “Keith, c’mon, let me in?”

The room is silent. Lance sighs and drags his fingers against the lion again. Suddenly, it begins to move, and he jerks his hand away. The lion opens its mouth, its eyes flashing briefly. Then it stills once more. A tingly feeling passes through Lance and disappears just as quickly. He recognizes it as coming from the red lion itself. It feels like a plea for help. 

Lance takes a deep breath. He steps into the lion’s jaw and proceeds inwards. The sound gets louder and clearer as he walks. It's Keith’s voice for sure, and it sounds like… like crying. Lance’s heart plummets. 

Finally he reaches the cockpit. He doesn't see Keith at first. The red paladin is hunched over in the chair, legs pulled close. Lance can't see much of Keith behind the chair, but he can hear his hiccups as he tries not to sob.

“Keith?” Lance asks softly. He hears a gasp from the chair, and suddenly the crying stops. Lance walks further into the cockpit and takes a few steps towards the chair.

“Stop.”

Lance freezes. Keith’s voice is watery and quiet. He sounds like he's barely keeping it together, like he's going to fall apart all over again. It breaks Lance’s heart. 

“Keith, tell me what's up,” he tries, stepping forward yet again. He barely makes it three steps before Keith speaks up yet again.

“Lance. Go away,” he grits through his teeth. Keith's voice is louder, but still incredibly shaky. 

Lance is close enough to see over the chair now. He takes in the way Keith is curled into the chair. Keith is still in his armor, and he hasn't even removed his helmet. His head hangs low and rests in his hands. 

Lance can't stand to see Keith like this. He definitely isn't going to just leave him like this either, no matter what Keith says. He reaches out, placing a comforting hand on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith instantly springs into action, smacking Lance away and jumping up. Lance yelps and takes a surprised step back. He stares in confusion at Keith’s back.

_“Leave.”_

Neither speak. Neither move. Lance is stunned into silence. He can only watch as Keith’s fist begins to clench. He's trying to keep his emotions in check, Lance knows this, but Lance can also feel his heart aching for Keith, and he wants to help. He wants to be there for him.

Keith snaps. He whirls around to face Lance unexpectedly and shouts, “You wanna know ‘what's up’ with me? You wanna see? _Fine!”_

Keith yanks off his helmet and tosses it to the floor. He's breathing hard, chest heaving. Lance sucks in a quick breath. He stares straight into Keith's eyes. They're yellow.

All of Keith's skin is purple, as well as his hair. Two large ears poke out from beneath his hair, flattened with tension. He looks exactly like a Galra.

“Keith…?”

“Are you happy now?” Keith snarls. Lance gulps. “I'm part-Galra. I'm part of the enemy.”

Keith's voice breaks on the last word. He drops his gaze, and a few tears fall to the floor. It’s killing Lance to see Keith like this. Sure, he's shocked by Keith’s transformation; anyone would be. He doesn't know how or why this is happening. But what's worse is just how upset Keith himself is. 

Slowly, tentatively, Lance holds an open hand out towards Keith. He waits for Keith to lift his head slightly, enough to see what he's doing, then takes a single step forward.

“What… But I'm… Aren't you scared?” Asks Keith in a very small voice. Lance says nothing, just holds out his arm in the small space between them. Seconds pass as Keith examines his face warily. Lance thinks this is the longest Keith has ever looked at him, and wow, now _really_ isn't the time for those kinds of thoughts.

Without warning, Keith lets out a loud sob. Before he knows it Lance has two hands gripping his jacket tightly while their owner cries into his shoulder. He wraps his arms around Keith’s smaller frame and hugs him tightly. 

They sink to their knees on the floor. Lance pulls Keith closer to his chest. He rubs circles into Keith's lower back and murmurs comforting words. He's not sure that any of this is helping Keith, but he'll do whatever it takes for Keith to know that he's there for him.

The tears continue to fall for several minutes. Slowly but surely, Keith's sobs become softer, start to die out. Lance keeps holding him, keeps whispering, keeps comforting.

“...Why?” Mumbles Keith. His voice is still soft, but it's much stronger. The hand on Keith’s back pauses as Lance organizes his thoughts. He wants to get this right.

“You're part Galra,” he starts. He feels Keith tense in his arms and hurries to finish the thought: “You're also part human. But that's not really what's important, though. You're Keith, my teammate, my _friend_. And you're a hero. I mean, look at all the planets we've liberated, the people we've saved. You've got my back, Galra or no. Right?”

Keith pulls away from Lance during his speech. He sits and stares with an almost baffled expression as Lance smiles at the end of it. His eyes dart around the cockpit, then down to his hands on his knees. Then, Keith looks back up to Lance.

This time, Lance anticipates Keith falling into him. What he doesn't expect is to find lips pressed against his own. His eyes widen slowly as his mind struggles to catch up. Meanwhile, Keith’s arms wrap around his neck and pull him closer, and Lance thinks that maybe he can save the whole “thinking” thing for later.

It's not a great kiss. Tears still linger on Keith's face, and snot gets mixed in too, and it's wet for all the wrong reasons.

Despite this, Lance feels right at home shifting his lips and pressing harder against Keith’s mouth. A hand curls itself around Keith's side as Lance smiles into the kiss. He's been dreaming about a day like this for weeks.

Lance pulls back after a minute or so. He moves slowly, hesitant to leave Keith's warm lips. Some of the purple has receded from Keith's appearance, leaving his skin splotchy. It's a striking contrast between the new and the familiar, the two halves of a whole, and Lance finds it captivating. Keith's eyes are back to normal when he opens them. The red paladin wears a weak smile that makes Lance nearly giddy. 

“Thanks. Really,” Keith says as he rests his forehead against Lance’s. They relish in the quiet of the cockpit, no longer tense but comfortable. Lance knows they'll have to face the others sooner rather than later, whether they reveal Keith's identity then or not, but for now he's content to let the minutes of peace stretch on.

**Author's Note:**

> (Ignore the fact that the hangar room definitely isn't set up this way oops.)


End file.
